Charles Schulz's Snoopy is one of the most famous fictional dogs in the world, if not the most famous. His only real competition might be Goofy, who's apparently supposed to be an anthropomorphic dog (which, as ever, raises some real uncomfortable questions about Pluto), or possibly Scooby-Doo.

Snoopy is one of the oldest characters in Peanuts, first appearing in its third-ever strip in 1950. For the first few years of the comic, Snoopy might've been a stray who was broadly adopted by the neighborhood kids, as he seemed to belong to whichever kid he had to in order for the latest joke to work. It wasn't until 1972 that Schulz finally established that Snoopy belonged to Charlie Brown.

That's a useful example of an overall trend with Snoopy, who has the longest character arc in Peanuts. By the time the strip ended in 2000, Snoopy had evolved from a fairly normal beagle to a struggling writer with a number of elaborate fantasy personae, a penchant for walking upright, a doghouse that's basically a TARDIS, an ambiguous ability to communicate directly with humans, and his own extensive supporting cast.

In addition to his bird pal Woodstock, Snoopy has seven brothers and sisters, most of whom were rarely seen in Peanuts. The exception is Spike, Snoopy's desert-dwelling brother, who went from a brief visit in 1975 to a regular fixture in the comic by the '90s.

Snoopy's other siblings include his sister Belle, who lives in Kansas City with her somewhat upsetting son (above); Marbles, who's too smart to really understand Snoopy; the "roly-poly" Olaf; Andy, a fuzzy farm dog who might not actually be a beagle; and Molly and Rover, who only appeared in the 1991 animated special Snoopy's Reunion .

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